Your Weekly eNewsletter 4.3.20
News & Updates
Social Security Recipients Will Automatically
Receive Economic Impact Payments
The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service today announced that Social Security beneficiaries who are not typically required to file tax returns will not need to file an abbreviated tax return to receive an Economic Impact Payment.   Instead, payments will be automatically deposited into their bank accounts.  Click Here to read more.
Beware of Stimulus Check Scams

Your stimulus check will either be directly deposited into your bank account or by paper check in the mail, depending on how you've filed your taxes in the past. Scammers are already using this opportunity to steal the money coming your way or your identity by getting access to your personal information.   Beware of the following:


  • Fake Stimulus Checks. There are fake checks circulating right now. It will take at least three weeks for direct deposits to land and up to 10 weeks for paper checks to arrive by mail. If you receive any checks now, it is a fraud. Telltale signs are checks written in odd amounts or include cents, or a check that requires you to verify receipt online or by calling a number.

  • Facebook, text, or social media messages claiming to get in touch with you. Scammers are reaching out to people online on social media platforms or by sending text messages with claims they are from the IRS or other government agency and are trying to get in touch with you regarding your stimulus check. Ignore these messsages. The U.S. Government will never reach out to you via any social media platform or by text. 

  • US Emergency Grants Federation is a fake website. Scammers pose as a government agency and will send a link to this website or something similar for you to verify personal information. The government does not do this. The government already has the informationt they need and will not reach out to you for verification of your social security number or other personal identification. 

  • Processing Fee. Scammers pose as the IRS or other government agency claiming you can receive your stimulus check faster if you pay a processesing fee. There is no such thing and there is no way to speed up the IRS payment process.

  • Any correspondence with the IRS or U.S. Treasury. The IRS will never call or email you to verify any personal information. This includes your social security number, bank account number, or anything that allows access to your identity. As soon as you receive a call or email saying they are from the IRS or U.S. Treasury, hang up or trash it. 

To report a scam call or email, contact the Vermont Attorney General’s Consumer Assistance Program at 1800-649-2424.


Information provided by our friends at COVE (Community of Vermont Elders). https://vermontelders.org/   
Commodity Supplemental
Food Program Update
The Commodity Supplemental Food Program offered by the Vermont Foodbank will continue to deliver commodities to The Thompson Center on the third Tuesday of each month.  We are doubling up on our distribution of food boxes for older adults. Program participants will receive both April and May food boxes at once (April 21).  There will be no deliveries in May.

Please call The Thompson Center prior to pick-up of your items and a staff member will bring it out to your car. If you or someone you know might be eligible for this important nutrition program, please contact the Vermont Foodbank at 1-800-214-4648 or visit vtfoodbank.org.
Sewing Masks for
Healthcare Workers
  Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health is in need of fabric masks in response to the Center for Disease Control’s guidance that fabric masks are a crisis response option when other supplies have been exhausted.
 
If you would like a kit of fabric to get you started, please call ahead for availability to our Lebanon donation center hotline at 603-650-4217. This number is open Monday - Friday, 7:00 am to 3:30 pm.
Update on Tax Assistance
In response to COVID-19, AARP Tax-Aid has been suspended until further notice. Vermonters are advised that income tax filing due dates have been extended from April 15, 2020 to July 15, 2020. This means taxpayers can file and pay their federal and state income taxes on or before July 15 without any penalty or interest. This includes any tax year 2020 estimated payments that were due for these taxes on April 15, 2020.
 
Please be assured that we will call you to reschedule once AARP Tax-aides are up and running again.
Age Well
Update from Carla Kamel and the Community Health Team
 
Community Care Coordinator, Carla Kamel, is available for support in navigating resources and services and discussing community-based services. Carla wants our readers to know that she is available at the Ottauquechee Health Center (OHC) for a health and social wellness phone visit at 457-5414 or at carla.kamel@mahhc.org, even if it’s a five-minute phone conversation. A favorite quote of Carla’s by Henry Ford is “Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.” Which as Carla acknowledges, “ sums up what we do best in the Ottauquechee region.”
 
The Community Health Team of OHC and MAHHC health is looking for clean and gently used scrubs of any size for medical professionals at our local medical facilities to use. If you are a retired medical professional or someone who has scrubs to donate, please drop them off at The Thompson Center in a tub located on our front porch or at OHC in an identified container by the coat rack, M-F, 8:00 am - 5:00 pm.
Upper Valley Rehabilitation is offering Tele-health
 
Tele-health or Tele-rehabilitation offers one on one physical or occupational therapy through an internet enabled device with a camera. These virtual visits with a licensed therapist are live video sessions so patients do not have to visit a clinic for treatment.
 
Call or email directly at 802-457-4213 or info@uvrehab.com to schedule a virtual visit.
Caregiver Support Group Update:
 
The Thompson Support Group Facilitators Carla Kamel and Anne Herz can be reached by calling 802-457-5414. Carla and Anne are also making regular check-in calls and if you wish to be included, please let them know.
Update from Dartmouth-Hitchcock Aging Resource Center
 
The Aging Resource Center is trying to deliver more programs virtually. Please visit their website to see a list of current online programs, as well as, previously shown classes.
 
On that website people can get access to the quick start guide for Zoom users . They will also try to provide technical support for those who experience issues accessing their virtual programs . 
Active Aging
Take Tai Chi in the
Comfort of your Home!
Tai Chi Instructor, Anne Bower, has organized a schedule of online Tai Chi classes offered through Zoom, a FREE wireless screen sharing app. The following is a list of classes which can also be found on our website with live links to access the online classes.
 
Fall Prevention Tai Chi Mondays 10-11 a.m. every Monday starting 3/30
Sun 73 forms Tai Chi Wednesdays 11-12 a.m. every Wed. starting 4/1
Yang 24 Forms Tai Chi Fridays 10-11 a.m. every Friday starting 4/3
Introduction to Tai Chi Saturdays 11-12 a.m. every Sat. starting 4/4
 
For more information, email Anne at: anniebower@yahoo.com or visit her website at www.anniebower.com.
A Note from Liz Hatfield
Strength & Stretch

Exercise is more important now more than ever to keep our immunity and bodies physically and mentally strong. Here are some tips from Strength and Stretch Class Exercise Instructor Liz Hatfield until online classes can be offered. 
 
  • Take walks
  • Wall or counter push-ups
  • Low impact jumping jacks
  • Squats and leg extensions (kicks)
  • And full body stretching... everyday!
 
Liz is offering online classes via Zoom. Contact her directly for instructions.
802-522-9273 or  ebhatfield@aol.c om


Bone Builders Update
 
Bone Builders Instructor, Althea Derstein, is encouraging her students to keep exercising and to borrow weights from The Thompson Center during closure. Please call The Thompson staff who will be happy to put your requested weights outside on the front porch for pick-up. 
Curbside Pick-Up Menu
Call the day before to order take-out & pick-up from your car between 12:00 - 12:30 pm  
Do you or someone you care for need a wheelchair or other medical equipment, help with taxes or applying for Medicare, caregiver referrals, help with odd jobs around the house, have transportation needs? Just ask us!    Click here for more information